Unplugged on the Front Porch w/ Walt Wilkins benefiting Love for Loro

Date and Time

Thursday, August 24th
7:30 PM

Location

All Saints Episcopal Church
209 W. 27th St
Austin, TX 78705

Notes

“It’s time for a real vigil in these dark and divisive times. Walt’s album, Vigil (2010) is timely—each song is a Psalm, with a question, lament, or wonder about life. Vigil richly rewards undivided attention.”— Front Porch director, Steve Kinney

Singer songwriter Walt Wilkins, leader of the Mystiqueros

Check out this review of the album from “My Kind of Country” and you will learn why this upcoming show is so important to attend. For this one-time-only Love for Loro Fundraiser at Unplugged on the Front Porch, The legendary Austin troubadour, Walt Wilkins, will donate his time and talent as he performs this inspirational album, Vigil, in its entirety. The thoughtful tunes on the record provide an artfully spiritual tapestry to shape our shared evening together, and ALL proceeds from the event will go directly toward Love for Loro, The Front Porch’s effort to put a pair of hard-rubber shoes on the feet of each student at Loro Primary School in Loro, Uganda. As usual, the event will feature two sets of music divided by a 15-minute interview with Walt facilitated by Front Porch director, Steve Kinney. Joining Walt for his performance will be several members of his band, The Mystiqueros: we’ve been promised appearances by at least Ron Flynt, Bill Small, and Tina Wilkins.

Walt Wilkins was a regular on the Nashville music scene for almost a decade. While there, he solidified his role as a songwriting legend. Some of his compositions earned places on the albums of country music heroes Pat Green and Kenny Rogers, among many others. While his experience in Nashville was a positive one that earned him some of his closest friendships and songwriting partners, the Texas-born Wilkins said in an interview with “The Daily Gazette’s” Brian McElhiney” that he was “homesick all of the time,” in Tennessee, and that he had always known that he wanted to settle down in the Lone Star state.

In McElhiney’s 2013 article, Wilkins said of his return to Austin, “I’m so grateful to be home in Texas, and so grateful for the work I get to do.” A full time father and husband, Wilkins still manages to keep one of the busiest music schedules in our city’s vigorous, music-focused community. He has released three albums with his band The Mystiqueros and seven more as a solo artist, and has been a producer for numerous other musicians since his return.

About Love for Loro:

Love for Loro is a year-long fundraising campaign that will provide $35,000 in essential care and support to the students of Loro Primary School in rural Loro, Uganda. Organized by The Front Porch, LFLhas brought together individuals and groups of all ages, as well as organizations and businesses, to reach this goal: however, the idea originally sprang from middle-school students in our youth service corps, The Window, after they spoke with Edward Abili, a Ugandan citizen and current Austin resident, about the desperate need in his home village, Loro.

Already, Love for Loro has allocated and spent a portion of funds raised to provide each female student at the school with an Afripads menstrual kit that lasts a whole year. But now, we’re pushing toward completing the second and final phase of our goal: providing each and every student with a pair of hard-rubber shoes to protect all from insidious parasites and infections. We are encouraged by and grateful for all support to help us reach this goal by the end of 2017!

Free parking will be available on a first come, first serve basis in the parking lot directly adjacent to All Saints’ Episcopal Church. If the church lot fills up, overflow parking will also be available in the parking garage across the street, directly East of the church campus. If you park in the garage, bring in your ticket! We will validate it for a discounted rate of only $2.

Donations

The suggested donation for this event is $20 per person. Kids 15 and under are admitted for free, and nobody is turned away for not being able to pay. All proceeds from the event go directly toward purchasing shoes for kids in Uganda, so give generously!